Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a patterning method, a lithography apparatus, and an article manufacturing method.
Description of the Related Art
In a lithography process of manufacturing an electronic device such as a liquid crystal display, a step-and-scan type scanning projection exposure apparatus is used, which performs exposure while relatively scanning an original such as a mask and a substrate such as a glass plate with respect to a projection optical system in synchronism with each other.
In recent years, the size of a substrate increases particularly in a liquid crystal display device. In order to use the substrate without wasting anything, a plurality of devices of different sizes are manufactured in one substrate. On the other hand, the size of an exposure region also increases, making it difficult to form a plurality of patterns of different sizes in one original. Accordingly, the devices are manufactured by using a plurality of originals with respect to one substrate. In order to improve throughput, however, different original patterns are transferred to one substrate by using a plurality of exposure apparatuses.
As a technique of improving the throughput of an exposure apparatus, there is proposed a method of preparing a mark measuring machine independent of the exposure apparatus, performing measurement in advance by using an external measuring machine before measurement by the exposure apparatus, and omitting a measurement step of the exposure apparatus (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-274073).
In a manufacturing line that transfers patterns to one substrate by using a plurality of exposure apparatuses, layouts in which the patterns are transferred by the plurality of exposure apparatuses are different. This makes a difference in throughput between the respective apparatuses, and the productivity of the manufacturing line is rate-determined by an apparatus having the slowest processing speed. It is therefore necessary to improve the throughput of the apparatus having the slowest processing speed in order to improve the productivity of the manufacturing line.
In the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-274073, it becomes possible to improve the throughput of the exposure apparatus by shortening a mark measurement time. However, another measuring machine becomes necessary in addition to the exposure apparatus, increasing an installation area (footprint).